Chapter 113, Small Gains and Planning for Foundation

Translator: Raznick

 

Leaving the Red Rock Mountains, Zhou Chun recalled the previous events with a heavy heart.

 

Today’s affair truly illustrated an unchanging truth: no simp lived forever.

 

When someone became a simp, they were destined to be manipulated by the other party.

 

In this world of cultivation, the price a simp paid would not just be money or feeling, but their very life!

 

At the same time, the matter of the beautiful widow avenging her husband also served as a warning to Zhou Chun.

 

If he ever made enemies again, he had to leave no one behind!

 

Even if he could not kill them immediately, he must remember their appearance and find an opportunity to kill them later, not overlooking them because of their low strength.

 

After all, this was a world of cultivation, a world where anything could happen, like someone obtaining some godlike legacy after falling off a cliff!

 

Those who were overlooked today might, in the future, be blessed by fate, acquire some powerful legacy, and successfully reverse their fortunes, coming with immense cultivation and treasures to bring it all down on his head.

 

Not only would he suffer, but his clan and family would also be affected.

 

Mercy was weakness!

 

So, when his spiritual power was about to be exhausted, while Zhou Chun paused to replenish his spiritual power mid-journey, he also took the opportunity to count his spoils.

 

The three people he had killed were a Twelfth Layer of Qi Refining Stage cultivation, and two were Ninth Layer of Qi Refining cultivation.

 

Therefore, Zhou Chun obtained two superior first-grade artifacts and five average first-grade artifacts at once, including one average first-grade flying artifact.

 

And the spirit coins in the three people’s storage bag added up to four hundred and fifty-three, which was considered quite a fortune.

 

Other miscellaneous items, pills, talismans, and so on, are estimated to be worth over a hundred spirit coins.

 

Also, in the simp’s storage bag, Zhou Chun discovered secret art called Spirit Eye, which was a relatively rare ocular secret art.

 

According to its words, this Spirit Eye was essentially a reinforced version of Qi Sight.

 

After performing the secret art, he could not only see the cultivation of higher-level cultivators but also see the spiritual light emitted by herbs and demon beasts in the mountains.

 

The simp was able to cultivate to the Twelfth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage at an age that looked like fifty or sixty and also possessed two superior first-grade artifacts, one for offense and one for defense.

 

Besides having pretty good talent, the biggest reason was that he successfully cultivated Spirit Eye, increasing the success rate of finding herbs compared to others.

 

However, although the cultivation conditions for Spirit Eye didn’t appear high, it was extremely time-consuming.

 

According to Zhou Chun’s review of the simp’s own cultivation notes, he began cultivating this secret art at the age of eighteen at the Fourth Layer of Qi Refining, and it wasn’t until he was thirty-two at the Seventh Layer of Qi Refining cultivation that he truly considered this secret art cultivated successfully, to the point where it could be used to find herbs.

 

And according to his own slightly smug words, he was considered relatively fast.

 

His master took nearly twenty-five years to successfully cultivate this secret art!

 

This immediately cooled Zhou Chun’s initial joy.

 

The present was far different from the past; the current Zhou Chun was no longer the person who would excitedly rejoice at obtaining a secret art.

 

His understanding of the types of secret art far surpassed that of his former self.

 

A secret art such as Spirit Eye was precious; indeed, it was precious.

 

But it was, in reality, rather useless!

 

It was a pity to see that this method had little use for cultivators beyond the Foundation Establishment Stage.

 

Because the Foundation Establishment cultivator possessed a stronger Divine Sense, and their detection abilities were better, and they would not be inferior when searching for herbs.

 

And what cultivator, having reached the Foundation Establishment Stage, would go searching throughout the mountains for those herbs that had been around for less than a century?

 

Even if it revealed the cultivation of a higher-level cultivator, it wouldn’t work on a Violet Palace Stage cultivator.

 

Considering the time, often dozens of years, needed to cultivate it, this method was, for Zhou Chun, who considered Foundation Establishment a trivial matter, essentially useless.

 

Only those rogue cultivators who earned a living by searching for herbs would consider this object a treasure, willing to spend a long and arduous effort to cultivate it.

 

“However, this method would not be without its uses for the clan. I could give it to Clan Leader and he could reward it to ordinary clan members who are not qualified to cultivate secret arts. If someone were to cultivate it successfully, they could also make a fortune.”

 

Zhou Chun’s eyes flickered, finding a use for this “useless” treasure.

 

After completing the inventory of his earnings and meditating to recover spiritual power, Zhou Chun continued on his journey.

 

A month later, Zhou Chun returned to the Zhou Clan once more.

 

This time, he was fortunate; he quickly found a mineral cave with a rich concentration of metal Qi, where he managed to cultivate two instances of Hard Gold Sword Energy and collected enough metal Qi to replenish three more.

 

Upon returning to Nine Peaks, Zhou Chun learned a piece of good news.

 

After three months of seclusion, having consumed an Elevating Spirit Fruit to attempt Foundation Establishment, Ganoderma Peak Head Zhou Jiahe had reached Foundation Establishment!

 

This meant Zhou Jiahe not only became the fifth Foundation Establishment cultivator of the Zhou Clan but also the sole female Foundation Establishment cultivator.

 

Furthermore, her success lessened the negative impact caused by the first Zhou Clan cultivator who perished after failing Foundation Establishment, giving hope and restoring confidence to the other two who hadn’t yet consumed an Elevating Spirit Fruit for Foundation Establishment.

 

“This time, I was able to reach Foundation Establishment all thanks to you, Zhengchun. If you need my help to reach Foundation Establishment, I will do my best to support you!”

 

On Ganoderma Peak, when the returning Zhou Chun heard the news and came to visit and congratulate Zhou Jiahe, the new Zhou Clan Foundation Establishment cultivator immediately looked at him with a serious expression and gave him this assurance.

 

Zhou Chun promptly offered a polite bow in thanks: “I thank you in advance, Thirteenth Aunt.”

 

He was also very happy.

 

Next, Zhou Chun went to visit his parents and siblings and then submitted the secret art Spirit Eye to the clan and explained his suggestions to Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi.

 

Zhou Daoyi also agreed with his suggestions and rewarded him with three hundred clan merits as a result.

 

Then he announced the good news to the entire clan.

 

And to lay a foundation of popular support for Zhou Chun, Zhou Daoyi specifically pointed out who had submitted the Spirit Eye and who had suggested releasing it for all clan cultivators to cultivate.

 

This move certainly made many ordinary and elite Zhou Clan members deeply grateful to Zhou Chun.

 

After all, they originally weren’t qualified to cultivate clan secret arts, but now they were.

 

During the following six months, cultivators lined up to receive the secret art from the Zhou Clan library.

 

If Zhou Chun hadn’t been distracted, it would’ve been even easier to win people over by personally providing each Zhou Clan cultivator with a jade slip containing the secret art.

 

Half a year later, after consecutively ingesting four Golden Bud Pills, Zhou Chun finally managed to break through his cultivation to the Twelfth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage.

 

At this point, he only needed to open the last eight meridians, and he could begin Foundation Establishment.

 

He was only thirty-four too.

 

A cultivator in his early thirties at the Twelfth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage was unprecedented among the over one hundred Qi Refining cultivators currently within the Zhou Clan.

 

The last cultivator to reach the Twelfth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage at that age had already died several years ago; that was Zhou Zhengkang.

 

Possessing this level of cultivation at this age, even if Zhou Chun were just a rogue cultivator, his chances of Foundation Establishment in the future would be considerable.

 

“Very good, Zhengchun, you’ve finally reached this level!

 

“From now on, just slowly open the last eight meridians. As for a Foundation Establishment Pill, I will find a way to get it for you. A chance should appear soon!”

 

Inside the Central Palace, Zhou Daoyi saw Zhou Chun’s cultivation finally break through to the Twelfth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage and immediately nodded approvingly, feeling very satisfied.

 

He also brought up old matters, directly stating that Zhou Chun needn’t worry about the Foundation Establishment Pill.

 

This made Zhou Chun feel deeply moved within his heart.

 

Immediately he showed a look of curiosity and asked, “What did Clan Leader mean when he spoke of an opportunity?”

 

Hearing his question, Zhou Daoyi didn’t beat around the bush and immediately looked at him and said, “You also know that these past few years, the Dragonized Sect has been causing more and more trouble in Cloud Province, and even some Cloud Province rogue cultivators with Foundation Establishment and a few small clans have been lured away from Jing Kingdom, heading to the periphery of their new headquarters to cultivate.

 

“This is encroaching on Green Lotus Monastery’s foundation in Cloud Province!

 

“Therefore, I have heard that Green Lotus Monastery has already utilized a batch of reserve materials, preparing to refine some Foundation Establishment Pills as rewards, to commend the cultivating clans and rogue cultivator who demonstrated excellence in dealing with the Dragonized Sect.

 

“If that is truly the case, we certainly won’t let this opportunity slip through our fingers!”

 

[So that’s why!]

 

Zhou Chun nodded thoughtfully, understanding Zhou Daoyi’s meaning.

 

Now, much information had been investigated regarding the Dragonized Sect’s situation.

 

From what was known, the Dragonized Sect, after being removed from the Jing Kingdom, should have fled into the Dragon Mire.

 

And after eight hundred years of concealment and development, the Dragonized Sect of today had established another settlement in the wilderness beyond the Jing Kingdom, and its overall strength was likely no weaker than, or even superior to, Green Lotus Monastery!

 

This time, their choice to enter Jing Kingdom was likely not truly about settling an old grudge, but rather about poaching talent.

 

After all, even if their strength had recovered considerably, it couldn’t compare to their most prosperous period.

 

They should know that as long as the major sect in the Jing Kingdom still existed, they couldn’t truly allow them to return.

 

But, to develop and grow stronger, they needed manpower, establishing a kingdom ruled by the Dragonized Sect beyond the Jing Kingdom.

 

They could only set their sights on the Jing Kingdom.

 

Green Lotus Monastery would not sit back and watch this happen, not allowing cultivators from Jing Kingdom to mass-defect to the Dragonized Sect, weakening their own power and strengthening their enemies.

 

Therefore, to prevent this from occurring, they must rigorously suppress those of the Dragonized Sect infiltrating and causing chaos while also providing benefits to stabilize the populace.

 

As long as they had the blood of the Dragonized Sect on their hands, they certainly could not defect.

 

For the recently relocated Zhou Clan to Mist Province, seeking refuge with the Dragonized Sect was simply not an option.

 

When the Green Lotus Monastery finally began distributing Foundation Establishment Pills to sway hearts and minds, and everyone rushed to undermine the Dragonized Sect for those pills, the Zhou Clan would naturally be able to align themselves with the prevailing trend.

 

Even if a few Dragonized Sect Envoys were killed in the process, it wouldn’t make them stand out. They could even use it to demonstrate their resolve to the Green Lotus Monastery—a trifecta of benefits.

 

Having grasped these considerations, Zhou Chun no longer worried about the Foundation Establishment Pill.

 

…

 

One day, because the clan had exhausted its supply of Venomous Thornfish mucus needed to create Touch of Despair, Zhou Chun once again headed to the underground river to catch fish.

 

What could now be confirmed was if the Venomous Thornfish could be artificially bred.

 

Or rather, it was impossible to artificially breed them due to environmental limitations.

 

The Venomous Thornfish raised by the Zhou Clan either died or, upon being removed from their original environment, their mucus gradually dissipated, ceasing production after a few attempts.

 

Therefore, to continue creating Touch of Despair, it was necessary to keep sending people to the underground river to harvest mucus.

 

Zhou Chun had previously suggested to the Zhou Clan that they seize the mountain peak where the underground river flowed.

 

But these suggestions were temporarily denied by Clan Leader Zhou Daoyi.

 

According to Zhou Daoyi, the Zhou Clan had limited manpower, barely managing to defend the Nine Peaks. Establishing another branch would make it impossible to handle both.

 

Having been denied several times, Zhou Chun no longer mentioned the matter.

 

However, upon returning to the underwater spring this time, Zhou Chun gazed at the deep, murky water ahead and found himself irresistibly drawn to the idea of exploring the underground river.

 

His cultivation had already reached the Twelfth Layer of the Qi Refining Stage, and the Silver Thunder Python had become a superior first-grade demon beast with combat capabilities equally potent in the water.

 

Even if he encountered a large group of Venomous Thornfish like he did before, relying on the numbing effect of Thunder Movement in the water, retreating safely should not be difficult.

 

Zhou Chun hesitated for a moment and released the Silver Thunder Python, then cast Water Avoidance on himself, allowing Whitey to lead him into the water.

 

Perhaps because Whitey had already begun to possess some of the imposing presence of an average demon beast, Zhou Chun was able to advance in the underground river with its assistance, and the demon beasts they encountered were driven back in advance.

 

He easily reached the underground water cave that had previously caused them to retreat.

 

After entering the underground water cave, Zhou Chun encountered some Venomous Thornfish again.

 

However, these demon beasts fled deep into the underground water cave as soon as they saw Whitey, as if they were seeking help again.

 

Zhou Chun also became more vigilant.

 

As expected, after advancing, Zhou Chun once again witnessed the scene that had previously caused them to retreat.

 

He saw dozens of Venomous Thornfish forming a school, rushing towards them and stirring up the previously calm underground river.

 

“Whitey, it’s up to you!”

 

Zhou Chun took a deep breath and immediately jumped off the python’s back, letting Whitey launch an attack.

 

A silver-white lightning orb suddenly sprayed from Whitey’s mouth and exploded within the school of fish.

 

For a moment, even from a distance of a hundred meters, Zhou Chun felt his body become numb, as if he had been shocked.

 

The Venomous Thornfish were instantly blown to death, and the survivors twitched all over.

 

At this moment, the Silver Thunder Python flicked its tail and aggressively charged towards the school of fish!